Ima Happy Cat the one to catch in stakes-quality allowance

A quality field of fillies and mares will square off in the feature race Thursday at Emerald Downs. The 5 1/2-furlong allowance race for nonwinners of $30,000 in 2020 or nonwinners of three drew seven horses, including six stakes winners.

Broome is the only horse in the field without an added-money victory. However, the 5-year-old mare by Bellamy Road has strong credentials, including a respectable fourth in the Grade 3 Torrey Pines at Del Mar in 2018.

Ima Happy Cat is versatile, but she appears to be the main speed and could be tough to reel in if she breaks alertly from post 3 with Gary Wales riding.

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Trained by Dan Markle, Ima Happy Cat will not mind being back at Emerald, where she is a two-time sprint stakes winner. The 5-year-old California-bred took them all the way in the $50,000 Hastings last year. Showing she is not a one-trick pony, she came from a stalking position to capture the $50,000 Seattle Slew in 2018. In both instances, she was coming off a race at Golden Gate Fields.

In her most recent outing, Ima Happy Cat chased a fast pace before tiring to finish fifth going five furlongs on turf in the $77,250 Camillo Urso on May 30 at Golden Gate.

She was productive in Northern California, compiling a 1-1-2 record from 7 starts beginning Oct. 26. Prior to the Camilla Urso, she took a short break after finishing second in a March 22 open allowance race on Tapeta.

Markle appears to have her primed for a big effort. Since returning to Emerald, she has worked a bullet four furlongs in 46.80 seconds on July 4 and followed that with a dazzling five-furlong move in 57.60 last Saturday.

If Ima Happy Cat doesn’t fire her best shot, it’s just about anyone’s race.

The Tom Wenzell-trained Dontkissntell can fire fresh and is making her first start since finishing third in the $50,000 Washington Cup Filly and Mare on Sept. 15. The 2018 Washington Cup Sophomore winner romped going 5 1/2 furlongs in a first-level allowance race with a $30,000 claiming option in her initial start last year at Emerald. She also won a maiden special weight race by 6 1/4 lengths after being off for almost five months in 2018.

Alittlelesstalk makes her 4-year-old debut. Trained by Roddina Barrett, the daughter of Demon Warlock won the $50,000 Kent and $50,000 Washington Cup Sophomore Filly last year. She also finished second in the $50,000 Muckleshoot Derby and was voted the local champion 3-year-old filly.

Killarney Lass returns off a win in a conditioned allowance race with a $35,000 claiming option on Feb. 24 at Turf Paradise. Trained by Frank Lucarelli, she won the Washington Oaks by 9 1/4 lengths the same day Alittlelesstalk was the runner-up in the Muckleshoot Derby.

Post time for the first of 11 races on Thursday is 5 p.m. Pacific.